The Red Lighthouse
by Agest
Summary: Great feats are not performed without great sacrifice. The adepts of Golden Sun find out first hand just how high the price of saving the world is during the final events of the Mars Lighthouse. Tragic Mudshipping Oneshot. Complete.


Here's another mudshipping oneshot for those of you who are still fans out there. Enjoy!

How to read dialogue in my stories:

- "Quote" marks means someone is speaking

- _Italics_ indicate thoughts

Legal Stuff:

- I don't own Golden Sun or the affiliate characters

* * *

THE RED LIGHTHOUSE

Saving the world from imminent destruction is certainly not an easy feat for a group of teenage adepts to handle, however their determination to see the quest through to the end had paid off, allowing them to finally stand on the aerie of the Mars Lighthouse. It was essentially over. Just three steps forward to drop the Mars Star into the beacon of the lighthouse, and their long mission would be complete, or so they thought. Great feats do not usually come without a sacrifice.

Nobody had expected the Wise One's interference at the last second, nor the 3 headed dragon he had conjured for the would be heroes to fight. They also could not have expected just how difficult the battle would become.

They had battled toe to toe with the three headed behemoth for what already seemed to be an eternity and had the marks to prove it. While they had managed to eliminate 2 out of the dragon's 3 heads, the price had been quite high. Not a single adept was left uninjured as they stared down the third and final head, hoping to put an end to the bloody battle.

Issac stood alongside his fellow adepts, using his blade to support his injured leg as he took advantage of the lull in battle to catch his breath. It would be difficult to move with the wound on his calf, but he was still in better condition than some of the others along side him.

Garet had lost the use of one arm, making it difficult for him to fight on the front line, while Felix had a large claw wound in the stomach and Piers had been knocked out cold. Jenna had stepped in to help distract the beast in melee combat, but had suffered a number of debilitating injuries despite her quick reflexes.

Ivan looked a little singed but was otherwise fine, however Sheba was on the floor from the last attack and Felix was tending to her wounds. Mia looked exhausted from trying to heal up all the injuries sustained by the group in such a short time and had a gash on her back from when she narrowly avoided losing her life to a deadly claw swipe.

The dragon's roar brought attention back to the fight as the weary adepts prepared to hold off the monster once more. The dragon jumped at Garet, causing him to back off to avoid getting caught as Jenna moved in and slashed at one of the dragon's legs.

A quick retaliatory swipe put a gash in Jenna's arm, however Issac was there to prevent the dragon from following up. The battle continued as it had before with people alternating turns distracting the dragon and then retreating as its focus shifted.

Over time the group slowly managed to score hits against the monster, hearing its roars of pain as it became enraged. The dragon seemed to finally be weakening and it looked like the battle might have been coming to a close.

Then everything went wrong.

Issac got trapped in melee combat with the dragon for too long as the dragon held off Felix and Jenna with a torrent of fire. He blocked two claw slashes with his sword but tripped with his injured leg and was thrown off balance as the dragon leaned in and crushed Issac's body in its razor sharp teeth before roughly tossing him across the lighthouse and into a statue near the edge, where he lay in a heap.

Issac was vaguely aware of someone yelling his name and saw Mia turn and run toward him with his blurred vision. She was suddenly stopped as a sharp talon pierced her chest in a spray of red and she fell to her knees with a shocked expression.

Issac tried to call out and scream her name but his voice wouldn't work. He reached his hand out toward her direction and noticed it was dripping with brilliant red blood. His arm fell as his vision blurred again, bringing him closer to unconsciousness.

Jenna tried to get past the dragon to Mia and Issac who were about 10 meters apart, however a swipe of the dragon's tail knocked her back to the other side of the aerie.

Mia saw Issac's eyes close and reached out toward him, fearing the worst. Her hand came down on the cold, hard ground and without regard for her own injury, she began to pull herself toward where Issac lay. Inch by agonizing inch she pulled her way to him, fighting past the pain and leaving red streaks of blood on her path as the battle raged around her.

Eventually she reached his side and collapsed next to him for a moment before willing herself to raise her head and look at Issac's mangled body. Blood covered both of them and Mia raised her hand to Issac's chest, whispering his name. Her hand glowed blue as she tried to use a ply spell on him that flickered briefly before winking out of existence, causing Mia to realize she no longer had the strength to use her psynergy.

Issac must have felt the brief flash of energy because his eyes slowly opened to see Mia's face before him. He tried to smile at her even though he knew what had just happened but ended up grimacing in pain.

"Issac…" Mia said weakly, her hand still lying right next to his body where it had fallen after she tried to heal him.

"Mia…" Issac managed to choke out in response, causing a line of blood to escape from his mouth as he tried to focus on her bright blue eyes. Mia noticed this and silent tears began to drip down her face as she realized just how hopeless his situation was as well. "Don't…cry…" Issac whispered with great effort before coughing up blood and painting the ground with more red.

Mia made a conscious effort to stop the tears as she reached up with her hand and weakly wiped away the trail of blood from Issac's mouth.

"Issac…" Mia started to say. "Please…don't try to speak…"

Issac moved his hand slightly to touch Mia's and she responded by curing her fingers around his, causing him to smile weakly. Mia used her other arm to move as close to him as she could so their faces were just inches apart.

Issac opened his mouth to try and speak again but Mia slowly shook her head and held a finger up to his lips with a free hand.

"It's…okay…Issac," Mia said softly. "Don't cause yourself pain…by trying to speak…" Issac squeezed her hand gently to indicate his acknowledgement of the statement as his vision blurred again and his eyes drooped.

Mia continued to speak to Issac softly as he slowly blinked and drifted in and out of consciousness. "We will be all right," she said in a sad tone, knowing it was a complete lie. Issac squeezed her hand again gently to indicate he heard her and appreciated the effort even though he knew they didn't have much time left.

Mia stayed silent for a moment until Issac opened his eyes again slightly. "It was quite an adventure we had wasn't it?" Mia asked him in a gentler voice, looking into his eyes. "When we first met you helped me out in the Mercury Lighthouse… and we almost stopped Saturos right there." Issac closed his eyes but continued to listen to Mia's soothing voice. "I joined you guys on your journey after that…I'm still happy I did, even now…"

"Do you remember Xian?" Mia inquired next. "It was so pretty with all the blooming flowers…" Mia could feel her voice catching in her throat and felt her body weakening as well but continued to press on. "Tolbi was nice too…I really liked that beautiful kimono you won for me…I was so happy when you told me you liked the armor I won for you as well…"

Issac's breathing slowed as Mia continued with tears forming in her eyes. "What about all those night watches on the ship? I remember how we would both be tired all the time because we stayed up for each others watches…"

The tears began to stream down Mia's face. "You would hold me sometimes during those watches…especially when it was cold. I really loved it when you did that…"

Issac's breathing became very shallow and Mia could no longer see the rise and fall of his chest. "Do you remember the night before Magma Rock? We were lost and it was so cold, but you reassured me everything would be all right…You held me while I slept and it made me feel safe because I was with you…"

Mia let out a sob and reached forward with her free hand, pressing it against Issac's neck to feel for a pulse she knew was no longer there.

"Do you…do you remember the night after Prox…?" Mia said, knowing he would never hear her. She moved her head forward slightly so her forehead was gently touching Issac's and let her eyes close. "The night after Prox…you kissed me…" she murmured, feeling faint.

She opened her eyes just enough to see the faded world around her and take in the form of Issac next to her. _There's so much red…_her mind noticed as the world faded out again and she closed her eyes. _Issac…We will eventually meet again…_Mia could feel her body shutting down as the injury took its toll. The last thing she remembered before fading into the void was that Issac had a smile on his face in the end.

…

Issac and Mia had left the world but for a moment their bodies remained side by side, hand in hand, drenched in the deep red color of their own blood. If an observer looked closely, they could see the faint wisp of a smile on the faces of both adepts, happy just to be together even if it was at the end of their lives.

The rest of the assembled adepts atop the lighthouse had finally managed to finish off the dragon that had claimed the lives of Issac and Mia but were greeted with an odd sight. Small ghostly balls of psynergetic light began to appear around Issac and Mia before floating away into the air and disappearing. Some were a deep blue and sea green while others were rich gold and bronze as they shimmered in the sky.

The lights appeared slowly at first before increasing in rate as the bodies of Issac and Mia evaporated into the heavens together as sparks of psynergy. It was a sight no one could ever forget.

* * *

As always, thanks for reading and I would appreciate any feedback you have for me. I don't normally write tragedy, but my last tragic oneshot was revived well so I gave it another attempt (this time without the semi-happy ending). I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
